Iranian power generation and Transmission company, Tavanir, officially revealed that the government could pass a new law to increase the penalties on illegal crypto mining through subsidized electricity.
As per the company’ official Mohammad Khodadadi Bohlouli, the new regulation will be imposed on those who misuse subsidized electricity and the punishment will be increased from the current state of law.
According to IRNA, violators of the new law shall be punished with three to four times increased fines, imprisonment of the offender, and revocation of their business license in case of repeated violations.
“Any use of subsidized electricity intended for households, industrial, agricultural and commercial subscribers, for mining cryptocurrency is prohibited,” Khodadadi said.
The official stated that the misuse of subsidized electricity degrades the quality of the electricity supply in the national grid. It also causes damage to home appliances such as televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, and others.
After getting approval for crypto mining activities in 2019, numerous crypto mining firms have relocated or launched their businesses in Iran. As per the report for 2020, currently, there are more than 1,000 licensed cryptocurrency mining units present in the country.
The main reason behind the growth in crypto mining in Iran is “extremely low-cost electricity”. Now, Iranian Power units want to capitalize more from this growing demand.
While the number of crypto mining units has been growing, some unlicensed and unauthorized units have also taken the place. These uninvited units have created adversary effects on the electricity industries.
Last year, Iran banned crypto mining for almost four months after blackouts across its major cities. At that time, President Hassan Rouhani affirmed that around 85% of current miners in Iran are not having a license.
Before this, the Iranian Energy Ministry’s spokesman for the electricity sector Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi warned those crypto miners, who use subsidized electricity and told them to be ready for heavy fines and compensations.
